Veteran Food Retail Logistics and Supply Chain Expert Joins
SpartanNash
SpartanNash (Nasdaq: SPTN) announced today that Mr. Walt Lentz has
joined the company as Executive Vice President and President, Food
Distribution, effective May 31, 2019. Mr. Lentz has 32 years of
logistics and supply chain experience in roles of increasing leadership
responsibility, including serving from 2017 to 2019 as Acting Chief
Executive Officer and Chief Supply Chain Officer of Peapod LLC, the
grocery eCommerce business division of Ahold Delhaize.
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Walt Lentz (Photo: Business Wire)
As President of Food Distribution, Mr. Lentz will have full
responsibility of SpartanNash’s $4 billion food distribution segment and
responsibility for the total company supply chain. He will work with the
SpartanNash team in developing and executing strategic plans to grow the
wholesale distribution and food manufacturing businesses’ profitability.
Mr. Lentz will report to SpartanNash’s President and Chief Executive
Officer, David M. Staples.
“Walt’s multi-disciplined logistics and supply chain career and
commanding knowledge of the grocery industry from distribution,
retailing and omnichannel commerce to manufacturing and merchandising
are in direct alignment with SpartanNash’s supply chain optimization and
strategic growth objectives,” said Mr. Staples. “His proven track record
of achieving top-line sales growth and bottom-line cost savings with
emerging innovative solutions, merchandising and marketing initiatives,
and improved customer and associate satisfaction are reflective of
Walt’s transformational leadership skills. We believe his expertise and
energy to accelerate our strategic plan will be an asset to our
organization.”
Mr. Lentz’s logistics and supply chain experience includes serving from
2016 to 2019 as Peapod, LLC’s Chief Supply Chain Officer (CSCO). In
2017, in addition to CSCO, he was named Peapod’s Acting Chief Executive
Officer for the grocery eCommerce business division of Ahold Delhaize.
His accomplished career with Ahold began in 2009, serving as Senior Vice
President, Supply Chain for Giant Foods, advancing to Senior Vice
President, Supply Chain Logistics, Planning and Replenishment, for Ahold
USA Retail. From 1997 to 2009, Mr. Lentz held several executive roles of
increasing responsibility with the Kellogg Company, ranging from
manufacturing operations to logistics operations and business unit sales
support.
About SpartanNash
SpartanNash (Nasdaq: SPTN) is a Fortune 400 company whose core
businesses include distributing grocery products to a diverse group of
independent and chain retailers, its corporate-owned retail stores and
U.S. military commissaries and exchanges; as well as premier fresh
produce distribution and fresh food processing. SpartanNash serves
customer locations in all 50 states and the District of Columbia,
Europe, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Bahrain, Djibouti and Egypt. SpartanNash
currently operates 160 supermarkets, primarily under the banners of
Family Fare, Martin’s Super Markets, D&W Fresh Market, VG’s Grocery,
Dan’s Supermarket and Family Fresh Market. Through its MDV military
division, SpartanNash is a leading distributor of grocery products to
U.S. military commissaries.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking” statements within the
meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 21E of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These include statements preceded
by, followed by or that otherwise include the words “outlook,”
“believe,” “anticipates,” “continue,” “expects,” “guidance,” “trend,”
“on track,” “encouraged” or “plan” or similar expressions. The
statements in the “Outlook” section of this press release are inherently
forward-looking. Forward-looking statements relating to expectations
about future results or events are based upon information available to
SpartanNash as of today’s date, and are not guarantees of the future
performance of the Company, and actual results may vary materially from
the results and expectations discussed. Additional risks and
uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the Company’s ability to
compete in the highly competitive grocery distribution, retail grocery,
and military distribution industries. Additional information concerning
these and other risks is contained in SpartanNash’s most recently filed
Annual Report on Form 10-K, recent Current Reports on Form 8-K and other
SEC filings. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements
concerning SpartanNash, or other matters and attributable to SpartanNash
or any person acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their
entirety by the cautionary statements above. SpartanNash does not
undertake any obligation to publicly update any of these forward-looking
statements to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the
date hereof.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190603005262/en/
Meredith Gremel, Vice President, Corporate Affairs & Communications,
SpartanNash, 616-878-2830